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Faustina Friday – The AVGVSTA/Ceres with grain ears and torch issue.
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<p>[QUOTE="Roman Collector, post: 7685274, member: 75937"]TGIFF!!!</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://media1.giphy.com/media/Y4pAvdXMMFxb7bITM4/giphy.gif" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>How about some Ceres?</p><p><img src="https://media2.giphy.com/media/elhW4IONMVC9uRGq9K/200w.gif" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p>Well, maybe the ale later. But that's not what I'm talking about.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://thebrickinthesky.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/tumblr_nknogdhtma1rxrsvso1_500.gif?w=392" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>No, not the dwarf planet, either! I'm talking about Ceres, the goddess of agriculture!</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://winners.virtualclassroom.org/0924/grmedia/Ceres.gif" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Martin Beckmann’s <i>Diva Faustina: Coinage and Cult in Rome and the Provinces</i>,[1] has greatly clarified the dating and arrangement of the Diva Faustina coinage. Beckmann identified an almost complete sequence of die-linkages for the aurei, supported by additional shorter, but corroborative, die-linkages among the sestertii. In addition, he discovered several mules with reverse die-linkages to dated coins of Antoninus or Aurelius Caesar, which connected certain issues to other dated events. These studies enabled Beckman to produce a comprehensive and reliable sequence of relative dating.</p><p><br /></p><p>The coinage is divided into five main phases commencing with the deification and funeral of Faustina. The use of the DIVA FAVSTINA obverse inscription commences with the third phase of issues, from AD 145-147, issued in conjunction with the marriage of her daughter, Faustina II, to Marcus Aurelius. The AVGVSTA reverse types depicting Ceres holding a single torch belong to this third phase of issues.</p><p><br /></p><p>There are a disproportionate number of coins depicting Ceres that were issued for Faustina and this is not coincidental. Andreas Alföldi argues that the connection between the empress and Ceres goes beyond mere concern over the grain supply or her devotion to the goddess.[2] It is more personal; Antoninus Pius was devoted to the sanctuary at Eleusis,[3] which had a temple where Faustina was worshiped as the new Demeter (Ceres) and had her own hierophant.[4] This article deals with only one coin type: the type bearing the AVGVSTA reverse legend and depicting Ceres standing left, holding corn ears in her right hand and either a long or short torch in her left that were issued AD 145-147 as noted above.</p><p><br /></p><p>Coins with this reverse design and legend were issued in the denarius, sestertius, and middle-bronze denominations. The bust may be right- or left-facing (denarius) and either veiled or bare-headed (all denominations). On the denarii, Ceres holds only a long torch; on the bronze denominations, the torch may be short or long. A new listing of known coin types is necessary because RIC[5] does not include the middle bronze coinage with Ceres holding a short torch and Cohen[6] is in error in his description of a sestertius with a veiled bust on which Ceres bears the long torch. All coins illustrated belong to my collection unless otherwise noted.</p><p><br /></p><p><i>Let’s see any Faustina coins you have depicting Ceres or anything you feel is relevant!</i></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Ceres standing left, holding corn ears and long torch</b></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1319745[/ATTACH]</p><blockquote><p><font size="3">Faustina I, AD 138-140.</font></p><p><font size="3"> Roman AR denarius, 2.69 g, 18.2 mm, 7 h.</font></p><p><font size="3"> Rome, AD 145 or later.</font></p><p><font size="3"> Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.</font></p><p><font size="3"> Rev: AVGVSTA, Ceres, veiled and draped, standing left, holding two corn-ears in right hand and torch in left hand.</font></p><p><font size="3"> Refs: RIC 360a; BMC 408-414; Cohen/RSC 78; RCV 4582; Strack 474; CRE 76.</font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1319746[/ATTACH]</p><blockquote><p><font size="3">With left-facing, veiled bust (RIC 360d; BMCRE <a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_BNK-R-486" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_BNK-R-486" rel="nofollow">415</a>; Cohen –; RSC 78a), Numismatica Ars Classica NAC AG, Auction 100, <a href="https://www.numisbids.com/n.php?lot=508&p=lot&sid=1980" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.numisbids.com/n.php?lot=508&p=lot&sid=1980" rel="nofollow">lot 508</a>, 29 May 2017.</font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1319747[/ATTACH]</p><blockquote><p><font size="3">Faustina I, AD 138-140.</font></p><p><font size="3"> Roman orichalcum sestertius, 25.59 g, 32.6 mm, 6 h.</font></p><p><font size="3"> Rome, AD 145-147.</font></p><p><font size="3"> Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.</font></p><p><font size="3"> Rev: AVGVSTA S C, Ceres standing left, holding corn ears and long torch.</font></p><p><font size="3"> Refs: RIC 1116(a); BMCRE 1509-11; Cohen 79; RCV 4614; Strack 1286.</font></p><p><font size="3"> Note: RIC 1116(b), uncritically citing Cohen 81, describes a variety of this coin with a veiled bust. The existence of this coin is doubtful. Cohen cites no source. Strack lists no examples. An exhaustive search of internet databases yields nothing. I suspect that Cohen mistakenly described the middle bronze version of this coin (RIC 1169b) with the veiled bust type as a sestertius.</font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1319750[/ATTACH]</p><blockquote><p><font size="3">Faustina I, AD 138-140.</font></p><p><font size="3">Roman Æ as or dupondius; 12.09 g, 25.7 mm, 7 h</font></p><p><font size="3">Rome, AD 145-147.</font></p><p><font size="3">Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.</font></p><p><font size="3">Rev: AVGV STA SC, Ceres standing left, holding corn ears and long torch.</font></p><p><font size="3">Refs: RIC 1169(a); BMCRE 1566; Cohen 80; RCV 4645.</font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p> </p><p>[ATTACH=full]1319752[/ATTACH]</p><blockquote><p><font size="3">RIC 1169(b), as above but with veiled bust, is attested by Strack, who cites examples in Budapest (Nationalmuseum), the Vatican, and Naples (Nationalmuseum). The coin is extremely rare and I am unable to find any examples online at the major databases.</font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p><b>Ceres standing left, holding corn ears and short torch</b></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1319753[/ATTACH]</p><blockquote><p><font size="3">Faustina I, AD 138-140</font></p><p><font size="3">Roman orichalcum sestertius; 22.86 g, 30.5 mm, 6 h.</font></p><p><font size="3">Rome, AD 145-147.</font></p><p><font size="3">Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right.</font></p><p><font size="3">Rev: AVGV STA SC, Ceres standing left, holding corn ears in right hand and short torch slightly inclined to right in left hand.</font></p><p><font size="3">Refs: RIC 1117; BMCRE 1512-13; Strack 1285; Cohen –; RCV –.</font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1319754[/ATTACH]</p><blockquote><p><font size="3">As below, but with bare-headed bust (RIC –; BMCRE –; Cohen –; Strack 1285; RCV --. Tauler & Fau, <a href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=7738427" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=7738427" rel="nofollow">lot 531</a>, 19 January 2021.</font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1319755[/ATTACH]</p><blockquote><p><font size="3">Faustina I, AD 138-140</font></p><p><font size="3">Roman Æ as, 12.21 g, 24.5 mm, 11 h.</font></p><p><font size="3">Rome, AD 145-147.</font></p><p><font size="3">Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, veiled and draped bust, right.</font></p><p><font size="3">Rev: AVGV STA SC, Ceres standing left, holding corn ears in right hand and short torch slightly inclined to right in left hand.</font></p><p><font size="3">Refs: RIC –; BMCRE 1567; Cohen –; Strack 1285; RCV –.</font></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>~~~</p><p><br /></p><p>Notes:</p><p><br /></p><p>1. Beckmann, Martin. <i>Diva Faustina: Coinage and Cult in Rome and the Provinces.</i> American Numismatic Society, 2012.</p><p><br /></p><p>2. Alföldi, Andreas. “Redeunt Saturnia Regna. VII : Frugifer-Triptolemos Im Ptolemaïsch -Römischen Herrscherkult.” <i>Chiron </i>, vol. 9, 1979, pp. 552–606, specifically pp. 586-589.</p><p><br /></p><p>3. Eleusis, in the outskirts of Athens, of Eleusian mysteries fame. These mysteries involved elaborate rituals devoted to the worship of Demeter (Ceres).</p><p><br /></p><p>4. Mylonas, George E. <i>Eleusis and the Eleusian Mysteries</i>. Princeton University Press, 1961, pp 155, 179.</p><p><br /></p><p>5. Mattingly, Harold and Edward A. Sydenham. <i>The Roman Imperial Coinage</i>. III, Spink, 1930.</p><p><br /></p><p>6. Cohen, Henry. <i>Description historique des monnaies frappées sous l'Empire Romain, </i>Tome III:<i> de Marc Aurèle à Albin (161 à 197 après J.-C.).</i> Paris, 1883.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Roman Collector, post: 7685274, member: 75937"]TGIFF!!! [IMG]https://media1.giphy.com/media/Y4pAvdXMMFxb7bITM4/giphy.gif[/IMG] How about some Ceres? [IMG]https://media2.giphy.com/media/elhW4IONMVC9uRGq9K/200w.gif[/IMG] Well, maybe the ale later. But that's not what I'm talking about. [IMG]https://thebrickinthesky.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/tumblr_nknogdhtma1rxrsvso1_500.gif?w=392[/IMG] No, not the dwarf planet, either! I'm talking about Ceres, the goddess of agriculture! [IMG]http://winners.virtualclassroom.org/0924/grmedia/Ceres.gif[/IMG] Martin Beckmann’s [I]Diva Faustina: Coinage and Cult in Rome and the Provinces[/I],[1] has greatly clarified the dating and arrangement of the Diva Faustina coinage. Beckmann identified an almost complete sequence of die-linkages for the aurei, supported by additional shorter, but corroborative, die-linkages among the sestertii. In addition, he discovered several mules with reverse die-linkages to dated coins of Antoninus or Aurelius Caesar, which connected certain issues to other dated events. These studies enabled Beckman to produce a comprehensive and reliable sequence of relative dating. The coinage is divided into five main phases commencing with the deification and funeral of Faustina. The use of the DIVA FAVSTINA obverse inscription commences with the third phase of issues, from AD 145-147, issued in conjunction with the marriage of her daughter, Faustina II, to Marcus Aurelius. The AVGVSTA reverse types depicting Ceres holding a single torch belong to this third phase of issues. There are a disproportionate number of coins depicting Ceres that were issued for Faustina and this is not coincidental. Andreas Alföldi argues that the connection between the empress and Ceres goes beyond mere concern over the grain supply or her devotion to the goddess.[2] It is more personal; Antoninus Pius was devoted to the sanctuary at Eleusis,[3] which had a temple where Faustina was worshiped as the new Demeter (Ceres) and had her own hierophant.[4] This article deals with only one coin type: the type bearing the AVGVSTA reverse legend and depicting Ceres standing left, holding corn ears in her right hand and either a long or short torch in her left that were issued AD 145-147 as noted above. Coins with this reverse design and legend were issued in the denarius, sestertius, and middle-bronze denominations. The bust may be right- or left-facing (denarius) and either veiled or bare-headed (all denominations). On the denarii, Ceres holds only a long torch; on the bronze denominations, the torch may be short or long. A new listing of known coin types is necessary because RIC[5] does not include the middle bronze coinage with Ceres holding a short torch and Cohen[6] is in error in his description of a sestertius with a veiled bust on which Ceres bears the long torch. All coins illustrated belong to my collection unless otherwise noted. [I]Let’s see any Faustina coins you have depicting Ceres or anything you feel is relevant![/I] [B]Ceres standing left, holding corn ears and long torch[/B] [ATTACH=full]1319745[/ATTACH] [INDENT][SIZE=3]Faustina I, AD 138-140. Roman AR denarius, 2.69 g, 18.2 mm, 7 h. Rome, AD 145 or later. Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right. Rev: AVGVSTA, Ceres, veiled and draped, standing left, holding two corn-ears in right hand and torch in left hand. Refs: RIC 360a; BMC 408-414; Cohen/RSC 78; RCV 4582; Strack 474; CRE 76.[/SIZE][/INDENT] [ATTACH=full]1319746[/ATTACH] [INDENT][SIZE=3]With left-facing, veiled bust (RIC 360d; BMCRE [URL='https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_BNK-R-486']415[/URL]; Cohen –; RSC 78a), Numismatica Ars Classica NAC AG, Auction 100, [URL='https://www.numisbids.com/n.php?lot=508&p=lot&sid=1980']lot 508[/URL], 29 May 2017.[/SIZE][/INDENT] [ATTACH=full]1319747[/ATTACH] [INDENT][SIZE=3]Faustina I, AD 138-140. Roman orichalcum sestertius, 25.59 g, 32.6 mm, 6 h. Rome, AD 145-147. Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right. Rev: AVGVSTA S C, Ceres standing left, holding corn ears and long torch. Refs: RIC 1116(a); BMCRE 1509-11; Cohen 79; RCV 4614; Strack 1286. Note: RIC 1116(b), uncritically citing Cohen 81, describes a variety of this coin with a veiled bust. The existence of this coin is doubtful. Cohen cites no source. Strack lists no examples. An exhaustive search of internet databases yields nothing. I suspect that Cohen mistakenly described the middle bronze version of this coin (RIC 1169b) with the veiled bust type as a sestertius.[/SIZE][/INDENT] [ATTACH=full]1319750[/ATTACH] [INDENT][SIZE=3]Faustina I, AD 138-140. Roman Æ as or dupondius; 12.09 g, 25.7 mm, 7 h Rome, AD 145-147. Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right. Rev: AVGV STA SC, Ceres standing left, holding corn ears and long torch. Refs: RIC 1169(a); BMCRE 1566; Cohen 80; RCV 4645.[/SIZE][/INDENT] [ATTACH=full]1319752[/ATTACH] [INDENT][SIZE=3]RIC 1169(b), as above but with veiled bust, is attested by Strack, who cites examples in Budapest (Nationalmuseum), the Vatican, and Naples (Nationalmuseum). The coin is extremely rare and I am unable to find any examples online at the major databases.[/SIZE][/INDENT] [B]Ceres standing left, holding corn ears and short torch[/B] [ATTACH=full]1319753[/ATTACH] [INDENT][SIZE=3]Faustina I, AD 138-140 Roman orichalcum sestertius; 22.86 g, 30.5 mm, 6 h. Rome, AD 145-147. Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right. Rev: AVGV STA SC, Ceres standing left, holding corn ears in right hand and short torch slightly inclined to right in left hand. Refs: RIC 1117; BMCRE 1512-13; Strack 1285; Cohen –; RCV –.[/SIZE][/INDENT] [ATTACH=full]1319754[/ATTACH] [INDENT][SIZE=3]As below, but with bare-headed bust (RIC –; BMCRE –; Cohen –; Strack 1285; RCV --. Tauler & Fau, [URL='https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=7738427']lot 531[/URL], 19 January 2021.[/SIZE][/INDENT] [ATTACH=full]1319755[/ATTACH] [INDENT][SIZE=3]Faustina I, AD 138-140 Roman Æ as, 12.21 g, 24.5 mm, 11 h. Rome, AD 145-147. Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, veiled and draped bust, right. Rev: AVGV STA SC, Ceres standing left, holding corn ears in right hand and short torch slightly inclined to right in left hand. Refs: RIC –; BMCRE 1567; Cohen –; Strack 1285; RCV –.[/SIZE][/INDENT] ~~~ Notes: 1. Beckmann, Martin. [I]Diva Faustina: Coinage and Cult in Rome and the Provinces.[/I] American Numismatic Society, 2012. 2. Alföldi, Andreas. “Redeunt Saturnia Regna. VII : Frugifer-Triptolemos Im Ptolemaïsch -Römischen Herrscherkult.” [I]Chiron [/I], vol. 9, 1979, pp. 552–606, specifically pp. 586-589. 3. Eleusis, in the outskirts of Athens, of Eleusian mysteries fame. These mysteries involved elaborate rituals devoted to the worship of Demeter (Ceres). 4. Mylonas, George E. [I]Eleusis and the Eleusian Mysteries[/I]. Princeton University Press, 1961, pp 155, 179. 5. Mattingly, Harold and Edward A. Sydenham. [I]The Roman Imperial Coinage[/I]. III, Spink, 1930. 6. Cohen, Henry. [I]Description historique des monnaies frappées sous l'Empire Romain, [/I]Tome III:[I] de Marc Aurèle à Albin (161 à 197 après J.-C.).[/I] Paris, 1883.[/QUOTE]
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